NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill retires three months after controversial decision to fire Officer Daniel Pantaleo whose use of a banned chokehold led to Eric Garner's death

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New York City's police commissioner is retiring after three years in charge of the nation's largest police department, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday.

James O'Neill, 61, will be replaced by Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea, the mayor said.

O'Neill's tenure as commissioner - which began with a pipe bomb blast on his first full day in office in September 2016 - came as the city continued to grapple with its place as a top terrorist target, as well as tensions between officers and the community.

New York Police Commissioner James P. O'Neill is stepping down after three years leading the nation's largest police department

He moved the department away from the controversial 'broken windows' theory of law enforcement, which viewed low-level offenses as a gateway to bigger crimes, while presiding over continued drops in crime.

He led the department's response to a deadly truck attack in 2017 and brought closure to one of the NYPD's lowest moments this summer in firing an officer in the 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea, who has been on the force for 28 years, will replace O'Neill

'On behalf of all New Yorkers, I want to express deep gratitude to Jimmy O'Neill for dedicating his entire career to keeping our city safe,' de Blasio said in a statement. 'Jimmy transformed the relationship between New Yorkers and police, and helped to make the Department the most sophisticated and advanced in the country.'

'O'Neill is the architect of neighborhood policing. He drove crime to record lows while working tirelessly to bring police and communities together. He leaves behind a city that's safer than it's been in decades,' de Blasio then tweeted. 'I'm lucky to have worked with as good a man as Jimmy O'Neill.' 

'The relationship between the community and the police is fundamentally different than it was a few years ago,' de Blasio said Monday. 'This is a safer city and a fairer city and we have proven that those two ideas go together.' 

De Blasio called Shea a 'proven change agent' who has worked to build trust between police and communities and is 'uniquely qualified' to serve as the city's next police commissioner.

'A 28-year veteran, he knows what it's like to walk a beat and lead a precinct. He helped build the strategies that have driven crime to record lows. He's a proven change agent,' de Blasio tweeted. 

Mayor Bill de Blasio, left, held an afternoon news conference to officially make the announcement, thanking O'Neill for his service. (File photo from 2016)

Joining the NYPD as a transit officer in 1983, O'Neill spent more than three decades with the department before becoming commissioner.

As commissioner, he led efforts to bolster community policing and repair the department's relationship with minority communities that had complained about innocent black and Hispanic men being caught up in aggressive enforcement of minor crimes.

At times, it appeared O'Neill was caught between loyalty to his men and women in blue and the progressive policies embraced by his boss, de Blasio, and pushed by police reform advocates.

61-year-old O'Neill spent more than three decades with the NYPD before becoming commissioner in September of 2016 

Fired cop Daniel Pantaleo (pictured) has filed a lawsuit against sue New York Police Commissioner James O'Neill in an attempt to get his job back

In one example, O'Neill said he wanted some changes to a state law that keeps police disciplinary records secret, so the department could share outcomes of cases with the public, but did not support a full repeal.

His lowest point came after O'Neill fired Officer Daniel Pantaleo for Eric Garner's death. The city's largest police union responded by calling for his immediate resignation. 

Pantaleo is now suing the NYPD and O'Neill, in order to get his job back. 

Pantaleo filed the lawsuit in Manhattan civil court last month claiming his termination in August of this year was 'arbitrary and capricious'.

Pantaleo, who was a 13 year veteran of the force, was earning $85,292 per year before being booted from the job.

The decision came after weeks of deliberation as to whether or not to accept NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Trials Rosemarie Maldonado's recommendation that Pantaleo be fired for using a chokehold on Garner that had been banned since 1993.

Pantaleo was caught on cell phone video putting Garner into the chokehold during a confrontation in Staten Island on July 17 2014. Police had suspected Garner of selling loose, untaxed cigarettes on the street.

In the bystander's video, it appeared that Pantaleo initially tried to use two approved restraint tactics on Garner, who was much larger at 6-foot-2 and about 400lbs, but ended up wrapping his arm around Garner's neck for about seven seconds as they struggled against a glass storefront window and fell to the sidewalk.

Meanwhile, another officer pressed Garner's head to the pavement.

The footage showed Garner, who was 43 at the time, crying out, 'I can't breathe,' at least 11 times before he fell unconscious.

A subsequent report from the city medical examiner's office ruled Garner's death a homicide caused by neck compressions from a chokehold.

Following that incident, which hit headlines around the world, Pantaleo was placed on desk duty, where he remained until his firing.

Garner died in 2014 after Pantaleo grabbed him and wrestled him to a Staten Island sidewalk. In this still image (left) Garner is seen on the ground unresponsive as officers try to talk to him

The Police Benevolent Association, which represents NYPD officers, blasted the commissioner in August for firing Officer Pantaleo. 

Ed Mullins, the President of the 13,000 member NYC Sergeants Benevolent Associated said he was pleased to hear of O'Neill's retirement

'This announcement is long overdue,' said Mullins. 'I believe he will go down as the worst police commissioner in NYPD history. As a puppet of the de Blasio's incompetent and dishonest mayoral administration, he has been the catalyst for New York City's hands-off policing and ongoing descent of overall quality of life and violent street crimes to which we are seeing an increase. His tenure as Commissioner has been one of frozen decision making and instilled broken morale in the NYPD.

'Under his watch there has been a trail of dead and injured officers. He lost whatever credibility he was clinging to when he betrayed the entire law enforcement profession by firing PO Daniel Pantaleo for the sake of political expediency in the Eric Garner debacle, to which he accepted no responsibility.

Eric Garner (pictured) was killed on July 17, 2014. A New York medical examiner ruled his death a homicide due to an asthma attack caused by Pantaleo's chokehold

'Like any coward, Commissioner O'Neill chose to run off before the entire empire falls. Those of us who are truly committed to the NYPD and people of New York City are now left to deal with the tremendous damaged inflicted upon the city by him and an out of touch Mayor – but I know I speak for the vast majority of police personnel when I say he will not be missed.'

O'Neill leaves the department in the middle of a mental health crisis among its ranks. 

Some 10 officers have died by suicide so far this year, seven of them since June. 

The appointment of Shea was not welcomed by Tina Luongo, Attorney-In-Charge of the Criminal Defense Practice at The Legal Aid Society:

'Yet again, this Administration has failed to consult the community on a decision that will affect the lives of millions of New Yorkers. This city needs a Commissioner who is dedicated to transparency and accountability, committed to community engagement, and champions reforms in the face of opposition from police unions and others who are invested in the status quo. 

'Under Chief Dermot Shea's watch, the NYPD has expanded its rogue gang database to ensnare thousands of Black and Latinx men and women, and codified practices to surreptitiously collect DNA at all costs, even from those who have never been convicted of or charged with a crime. This will be more of the same, and our clients – New Yorkers from communities of color – will continue to suffer more of the same from a police department that prioritizes arrests and summonses above all else.'